Chris Belcher

A queer teen rebel escapes small-town Appalachia and becomes Los Angeles’s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix in this searing and darkly funny memoir that upends our understanding of sexuality, class, and power. “The dominatrix is the id of American femininity,” writes Chris Belcher. “She says the words that we wish we could say when we find ourselves frozen. No is principal among them.” From an early age, Belcher appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity. At all of eighteen months old, she took first place in an infant beauty contest, a minor glory that tends to follow you around a working-class town of 1,600 people in rural Appalachia. As a high school freshman, she goes along with what’s expected of her: joining the cheerleaders and winning over the boys. Girls who cater to male desire are admired. But admiration is fleeting, double standards are enraging, and Belcher is restless for a chance to act on her own desires. When she falls in love with another girl and shares the secret of her queerness, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby swiftly turns on her. A decade later and two thousand miles away, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat in the early years of a PhD program, Belcher plunges into the work of a pro-domme. Branding herself as LA’s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, she specializes in male clients who want a woman to make them feel worthless, shameful, and weak—all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. A queer woman whom men can trust with the unorthodox side of their sexualities, Chris is paid to be the keeper of the fantasies that they can’t enact in their everyday relationships. But moonlighting as a sex worker also carries risks, like the not-so-submissive who tries to turn the tables and the jealous client who seeks revenge through blackmail. Belcher refuses to feel shame about the work she does, but fear that her doctorate program won’t approve—even in the field of gender and sexuality studies—burdens her with a double life. Pretty Baby is her second coming out. As Lisa Taddeo’s New York Times bestseller Three Women gave us a revelatory look inside female desire, this sharp and discerning memoir dissects male desire—its harm, its greed, and its secrets—and examines how queerness could hold the answers to subverting it.

A Memoir

Pretty Baby

Moving between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, a former sex worker, who branded herself as L.A.'s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, reveals how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon and vice versa, showing how power and desire can be renegotiated--or reinforced.

FINALIST FOR THE 2022 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR LESBIAN MEMOIR 'A muscular, canny memoir . . . I couldn't put it down. What a fucking gorgeous book' CARMEN MARIA MACHADO 'Entertaining' New York Times 'Absolutely not to be missed' Vogue 'A gripping story' Esquire Chris Belcher appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest - a minor glory that followed her around her small, working-class town in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her. A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat during a PhD program, Belcher plunges into a double life as both student and sex worker, branding herself as L.A.'s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix. As she moves between the embodied world of the pro-domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom can apply to the dungeon and vice versa. In this searingly funny and perceptive memoir, we see through eyes of a dominatrix-turned-academic how power, shame and desire can be explored and subverted.

A queer teen rebel escapes small-town Appalachia and becomes Los Angeles’s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix in this searing and darkly funny memoir that upends our ideas about desire, class, and power. “Pretty Baby is a muscular, canny memoir about labor and power and gender; it shimmers with rage and insight and I couldn’t put it down. What a fucking gorgeous book.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House “Chris Belcher’s Pretty Baby reminds me why I fell in love with memoirs in the first place.”—Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives The dominatrix is the id of American femininity. She says the words that we all wish we could say when we find ourselves frozen in the presence of men. No is principal among them. So writes Chris Belcher, who appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest—a minor glory that can follow you around a working-class town of 1,600 people in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her. A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat in the early years of a PhD program, Belcher plunges into the work of a pro domme. Branding herself as LA’s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, she specializes in male clients who want a domme to make them feel worthless, shameful, and weak—all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. A queer woman whom men can trust with the unorthodox sides of their sexualities, Belcher is paid to be the keeper of the fantasies that they can’t enact in their everyday relationships. But moonlighting as a sex worker also carries risks, like the not-so-submissive who tries to turn the tables and the jealous client out for revenge. As Belcher moves between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon, and vice versa. Still, fear that her doctoral program won’t approve burdens her with a double life. Pretty Baby is her second coming out. In this sharp and discerning memoir, we see through Belcher’s eyes how power and desire can be renegotiated—or reinforced.

Josh Liller

Florida Lighthouse Association

From Amelia Island to the Keys to Pensacola in the Panhandle, the coast of Florida is dotted with lighthouses of all sizes, shapes, materials, and - best of all – histories. The Florida Lighthouse Trail is a compilation of short histories, written by expert contributors from around the state. Each chapter has fascinating details about these great sentinels. Chock-full of information on dates of construction and operation, changes over time, and Fresnel lenses, this book also serves as a travel guide with directions and contact information for their support organizations. Paul Bradley's beautiful artwork richly illustrates each lighthouse. This new edition features substantially updated information, with the most up-to-date information for history buffs and prospective visitors. The Florida Lighthouse Trail also includes a history of the Florida Lighthouse Association, an extensive glossary, short biographies of the contributors, suggested reading, and an index.

Chris Belcher

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